Kingdom of Wessex (1962: The Apocalypse)
Stats The Kingdom of Wessex is a democratic UK survivor nation based in Somerset, Dorset and eastern Devon. History 'World War 3 (the Apocalypse of 1992)' Also see- WP Targets in the UK and Ireland. There would mostly be a problem with the radioactive fall-out from other regions of the UK that would cause much trouble. '1992-1999' The region was not directly attacked beyond a few minor hits in Dorset and become a safe haven for many people fleeing the remnant of Devon and south Hampshire. It would be a tough time during the nuclear winter and summer of 1992-94. After the initial crisis of the 1990's had been overcome things would look up for the nation, especially after the assumption of all regional powers by the Dorset council leader Timothy Lease at a joint meeting of Dorset, Bournemouth BC, Lynton RDC, Poole MBC, Yeovile MBC, Burnham-on-Sea UDC, Chard MDC, Yeovile RDC, Dorchester UBC and Somerset councils in Dorchester, Lynton, Burnham-on-Sea, Yeovile, Poole and Corfe Castle during the April and May of 1993. Martial law was declared in the June of 1994. Torbay had also Torquay, Paignton and Brixham were A severe famine and a cholera outbreak hit the county, killing many people during 1993, 1994 and most of 1996. This was further compounded, when several cases of chronic equine infectious anaemia were also reported to vets in mid to late 1997. The Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), also known among farmers as 'blue-ear pig disease' also killed off many of their pigs in late 1995 and early 1996. It would be an struggle to cope with the aftermath as in all parts of, but once sanitation and agriculture were up and running life would improve greatly. The state set about enforcing quotas for farm production, encouraged rural crafts and started digging for oil shale in the few non-radioactive parts of Purbeck This lead to a minor worker's rebellion in Purbeck during 1997. In the wake of this Timothy Lease declared himself King in order to cement his position as leader. As the 1990s passed agriculture boomed the situation began to ease and the country democratised in 2005. Martial law was dropped in 2006. Wise water management and the plentiful rivers helped avoid disaster in the 2006 heat wave and drought. Expeditions were then sent out. 'First Contact' Contact was made with Winchester and Torbay in 2003. Both Mercia and New Derbyshire (2 of the creators of the Provisional Republic of the UK were contacted in 2005 . The city state of Gloucester town and Stroud was discovered by chance in 2006. A hostile fist contact was made with West Wiltshire in 2007. 200'7-2009' Wessex and West Wiltshire clashed in 2007 over a border dispute in the Dorset town of Shaftsbury. The peaceable town in the remnants of the former city of Bath was also approached by Wessex and re-integrated at this time. After the Mercians had defeated the Welsh provisional army and ejected the settlers from the Clun Valley and Shropshire Hills South Wales was on the retreat. Things became more chaotic as the Mercia, West Wiltshire and Wessex successfully laid siege to Monmouth for a month, while simultaneously overrunning Hey-on-Wye and New Radnor in 2009. 2010'''-2012' The nation's farming would slowly improve between 2010 and 2012. Heavy floods killed 2 people on the Somerset Levels in 2012. Torbay was fully assimilated in late 2012 2013'-2014' As the Kingdom of Wessex, was moving towards Ilfracombe, Honerton and Barnstaple, friendly contact with the Republic of Cornwall and Barnstaple in 2013. Barnstable was given to Cornwall and Wessex took Ilfracombe and Honerton in exchange for Cornwall agreeing to pool it’s economic and military resources with them against dictatorial Kingdom of West Wiltshire and the aggressive Welsh SSR. Salisbury town, was the the focus of a new conflict with Kingdom of West Wiltshire after the pro-democracy Mayor lead a separatist revolt in 2013. The much more liberal minded nation of Wessex was the cultural kin of the town. 2014 saw the reopening of the Isle of Purbeck's oil industry. '2014 to today' Relations between the two nations have been tense ever since. Relations with Gloucester town, the Provisional Republic of the UK and Cornwall are flourishing. Relations with Cornwall, Sussex, Gloucester, Somme Republic and the PRUK, Brittany, the Channel Islands and Normandy have become ever closer since the singing of the 2004 free trade deal. A few expedition were sent to the outer fringes of Bristol city in 2014. Some tribes have been assimilated or joined trading treaties with Wessex. Some others are resisting Wessex's moves or have started trade talks with West Wiltshire, the Welsh SSR, Mercia and/or the Gloucester and Stroud Co-dominion. The Summer and autumn of 2014 saw a large than average outbreak of cabbage moth (''Mamestra brassicae) in the nation. In the Spring of 2016 a trade mission from The New Republic of Westcott arrived inviting representatives of the Kingdom of Wessex - traders, marauders,healers and wordsmiths to attend a peaceful tribal gathering at their base in a abandoned military complex near Westcott. Under a flag of peace the delegates attended the gathering during the late summer of 2016 and have been attending annually since that time forging alliances and trading peacefully with survivors from across the former UK.This peaceful gathering has become the largest gathering of survivors since the disaster and it has been dubbed "Apocolypticus".The annual trek to attend has become known as The Road to Ruin a pun on the condition of some delegates on their return to the Kingdom having over indulged during the festivities at Apocolypticus. 'Former refugee camps' Refugee camps were built in several places between 1962 and 1971, including- #Taunton #Yeovil #Glastonbury #Brixham #Dorchester #Weymouth #Frome 'Bad weather' Heavy floods hit Axminster, Yealmpton, Brixham, Ottery, Otter St Mary, Gittisham and Honiton in Devon during 1975, 1985, 1987, 1998, 2007 and 2012. The winter of bllizards 2009-2010 was the worst in 50 years, in which 2 fatalities occurred. The 2009 Great Britain and Ireland floods worst affected was the English county of Cumbria, Galloway, Dublin, Cork, Antrim, Dunfrieshire and the Irish counties of Clare, Cork, Montgommeryshire, Galway and Westmeath. Deaths were widespread with 1 in Whitehaven, 1 in Cockermouth, a Cornish trader in Poundsgate in Devon. 2 women died when a bridge collapsed at Newtown and Talybont-on-Usk in Montgomeryshire. 2 also died in Dublin, At the time, Taoiseach Brian Cowen described the situation in Ireland as an "ongoing emergency" that was going to get worse. The honorific floods and cyclone of November 22-28, 2012, devastated the former UK and Ireland. It finally killed a total of 42 people (39 citizens and 3 tourists)- 4 in Newlyn, 1 in Honiton, 1 in Truro, 3 in Exeter, 1 in Bovney Tracy, 2 in Shrewsbury, 2 in Gloucester, 2 in St Asaph, 1 in Wexford, 1 in Preston, 1 in Penrith 1 in Ayr, 1 in Cambridge, 3 in Monmouth, 2 in Northallerton, 2 in Kempsey, 1 in Chester, 1 Warwick, 1 in Derby, 1 Bridgewater, 3 in Upton-upon-Severn and 4 in Malmesbury, plus 3 Lower Saxon tourists in Warwick. It was the worst flooding incident in nearly 100 years! Aid came from Hexanshire, Durhamshire, Scarborough, Ayrshire, Perthshire, Denmark, Sussex, Willihamshaven, Kingdom of Lille-Wallonia, and the Neo-Roman Empire. 6 farmers died when a bridge collapsed in Bridgewater and 2 died as a tree fell on them in Crewkerne. The river Parret had flooded most of the Somerset Levels, causing serious long turn damage in the February of 2014. 'The Anglo-Saxon language' It was partly reconstructed from surviving texts and is being openly researched and promoted in places. *The national name- "Kingdom of Wessex" is "Konĝeric þâ Wessex" in Anglo-Saxon. *The state motto- "Freedom, tolerance, equality and peace" is "Freon, Laĝalna, Eðel, Pas" in Anglo-Saxon. Military The armed forces abandoned the use of bows and swords in favour of rifles and pistols in 1996. The army is a volunteer force of 2,550. It owns 5 Wytch farm oil, several alcohol and biofuel vehicles- #1x Comet tank (in storage) #2x Crusader tank #1x Churchill tank (in storage) #3x Charioteer tank destroyer #1x Ferret armoured car #5x Chevrolet RD 4x2 truck # 2x AEC Matador 4 x 4 medium artillery tractors # 2 x Corolla scout vehicles # 1 x Norman Scout vehicle # 1 x Dakar heavily armoured pursuit vehicle. 'Weapons' #Thompson sub-machine gun #Ordnance QF 18 pounder #Colt 45 pistol #French Darne machine gun. #Stokes mortar #Enfield No. 2 Mk I Revolver #The Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys commonly known as the "Boys Anti-tank Rifle" (or incorrectly "Boyes", nicknamed the "elephant gun") #Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk I (1903) #Canon de 75 modèle 1897 Battles Wessex and West Wiltshire clashed in 1997 over a border dispute in the Dorset town of Shaftsbury. 2 of the 12 Wessex and 3 of 22 West Wiltshire troopers died in the clash. The Journeys of Discovery 'The south Gloucestershire expedition of 1996' Several villages in the former Sodbury RDC and Warmsley UDC were peaceably contacted and assimilated a few months later. The Mid Gloucestershire expedition of 1996 The city state of Gloucester town was discovered by chance in 1976 and both the nations became friendly towards each other. 'The New Forrest expeditions of 1997' A expedition was sent to the town in the wake of claims that the Isle of Wight was settling western section of the sparsely populated coastline. It was revealed to be true and the Interior region was assimilated by 2000. The Isle of Wight hand had only 3 enclaves on the eastern half by 1997. 'The Portished expeditions of 1998' A expedition was sent to the town in the wake of claims that the communist Welsh SSR was settling the sparsely populated town. It was revield to be untrue and the tribes in Portished and the land south of the Avon next to it were assimilated by 1999. 'The Southampton expedition of 1999' The south of the city lay in radioactive ruins and the docks were destroyed. It was quarantined until 1996. The Westcott Trade Mission 2016 Scouts from the New Republic of Westcott travelling under a flag of peace guided delegates from The Kingdom of Wessex to their base in Westcott to attend the largest tribal gathering since the apocalypse. This trade mission was a outstanding success and has become a vital part of the continuing existence of The Kingdom of Wessex. Government and politics After a democratic election corrupted by the winning candidate bribing the electorate with cider, pasties and much sought after clotted cream Ian Lawley Bell was elected as the new regent, shortly afterwards the Kingdom became a Parliamentary democracy with Lawley Bells role as King becoming a honorary position with a proviso of supplying the pasties and clotted cream at all tribal gatherings. Local and national elections are held every 3 years since 1995 by the first past the post method, which is open to any national over the age of 15. A 1 year long interim parliament was voted for in 1994, but the minimum voting age was 16, not 15 as it is now.All candidates must be nominated by tribal leaders and endorsed by the King. Political parties, seen as the enemy of democracy have been outlawed by Royal decree. Economy Like most other post-Doomsday European nations, especially British ones, the economy is poor and suffers from labour shortages,slavery using captives acquired by The Wessex marauders has eased the labour shortages, especially in the oil sector. Most of the economy is weighted towards agricultural production though there is some industrial aspects to the economy around the major towns and cities, salvage, cattle raiding and marauding are a important part of the livelihood of Wessex natives.Trading with the Republic of Westcott has improved the economy dramatically. 'Trade with Ireland and Cornwall' Cornish tin ore is traded for Wessex oil shale as of 2006. 'Oil and oil shale' Wytch Farm oil shale development and Kimmeridge Oil well were rebuilt with the help of Durhamshire, Lille-Wallonia, Ireland and Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern) helped restore the site's operations in 2001. Irish and Walloon labourers, Durhamshire engineers and 2 experts from the Free State of Bavaria form the 160 expat community in Purbeck. The oil shale and oil are both used domestically and exported in small amounts to the Republic of Westcott Cornwall, the I.O.W, Ireland and Sussex since 2016. Transport Horses and bicycles are still common place. Horses are still popular in the nation, despite the heavy, but short lived, outbreak of equine ethmoid hematoma in 2008 and 2009. There are a some alcohol and biofuel vehicles and a some petrol driven tractors in use across the kingdom. A few petrol cars do exist, but they are still scarce. The nation has 6 GWR 2251 Class steam loco steam locos, 6 ex- BR GOV freight cars, 5 ex-BR Mk 1 passenger carriages, 7 coal trucks and 12 oil tanker wagons. The 2010 census #Employment is at 97%. #98% of households have running water. #77% of households have electricity. #25% of households have a gas supply. #Literacy rate - 98% #Literacy rate of under 16's - 88% Sport Gladiatoral combat using flaming swords is the national sport. The arts Stone sculpture, metalcraft and graffiti paintings of all genres are popular in the nation. Media A once monthly newspaper has been issued since 2008.The Apocolypse Times Cider Cider has started to be produced as of 1997 and small amounts have been exported to Cornwall ever since 2006.Production has increased dramatically since 2016 to satisfy the demands of the Annual attendance of tribal members to Apocolypticus. Healthcare Thyroid cancer ceased to be a problem in the mid 2000’s. There has been a reasonably successful healthy living media campaign running in the media since 2016 concerning binge drinking and high cholesterol levels brought on by the change in diet instigated by the organisers of the annual trade gathering known as Apocalypticas in the Republic of Westcott The Bitmeads who have reintroduced the "bacon burger" along with hedonistic celebrations of music, combat and excess of all kinds. The Wessexian`s are self policing with a stringent code of honour ruthlessly enforced in the gladitorial arenas. The Death Penalty Wessex has never had a death penalty, except for the ad-hock shooting of some local rebel leaders in 1967. Category:Nations (1962: The Apocalypse) Category:1962: The Apocalypse Category:United Kingdom Category:Cold War Category:The arts Category:Transport Category:Religion Category:Kingdom Category:Agriculture Category:Apocolypticus road to ruin